TNW Sites

An AMA of an 82 year-old who never used the Web will remind you how pure the internet can be

Do you remember the first time you logged onto the Web and how innocent everything felt? My first interaction with the internet was back in 1998 when my cousin bought his first computer and showed me where to find free online games. It became so addicting that my uncle eventually had to install software to limit our daily internet use.

The Web has changed dramatically since 1998, or even 2010. So imagine if this week was the first time you accessed the internet: How would you react to the countless memes, Web lingoes, apps, viral videos or wild obsessions over #LlamaWatch or #TheDress?

Today’s Reddit AMA features Kerstin Wolgers, an 82 year-old Swedish woman who used the internet for the first time this week through a project with Mynewsdesk Now. Her responses to this new life experience are adorable, and remind you how comforting it is to use the internet as an accessory, not a medium for living.

Take her answer for the “worst thing” she saw on the Web this week:

I saw a music video with a man jumping around being a bit silly, with funny thing on top of his head. But other than that nothing bad or weird!

The video in question was none other than the 2012 hit “Gangnam Style.” Yep: that’s the worst thing she saw on the internet (so far).

Wolgers’ favorite discovery on the internet is Google search (her first search was “art.”) She found the tool useful for exploring new pieces, and thinks the internet helps provide opportunities for learning.

Something she probably won’t return to the Web for is Tinder. “I don’t know if anybody would find me interesting,” Wolgers wrote, although she hasn’t sworn off Instagram or Skype just yet. She also said she is unlikely to online shop as she prefers to try and touch items before purchasing them.

Although her experience with the internet was brief, it’s refreshing to see someone who views the Web as a tool to enrich their real life, instead of a place where our digital lives reside.

To see more of Wolgers’ first week with the Web, check out the short video below, or read the full AMA here.